Modern/New Prog - Album Reviews

First, let me note the main sub-genres that have been buzzing about recently: 

Neo Prog - I am glad to say that one of my favourite prog sub-genre is having a second heyday at the moment! Newer bands like Sanguine Hum have made some great stuff, fairly recently. Old bands have reformed, too - IQ and Pendragon are the main ones to look out for here. 

Crossover/Eclectic Prog - a lot of new bands have been put in these categories recently. Thank You Scientist, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Steven Wilson are, I'd say, most famous here. 

Prog Metal - prog metal, of course, remains ever-present - I've just been listening to Beyond the Exosphere by Pyramid Theorem, and it's really great - I'll be a prog metalhead yet, Cristi!  

RIO/Avant and Zeuhl - The weird sub genres of prog, which have become even weirder in this day and age. Try out Lost Crowns and Zwoyld, two of my favourites of modern avant. 

^They are, as I say the main ones - I'm aware I've probably missed everyone's favourite! Please tell me if you want to add a sub-genre to the list, if you think it is like those above more abundant than most sub genres. 

As for the supposed new sub-genre... it hasn't really showed itself yet. There might never be a new sub-genre of prog, who knows what the future may hold.

And so, to finish, my review of Love over Fear by Pendragon, in the neo-prog category (which ironically is an ancient band, this album is new though). I’ve already posted it on the Neo Appreciation thread, but I’d like it to be the first review here. 

#1 - Love over Fear (by Pendragon) Review - Five Stars:

I've just bought this album yesterday, and it surprised me - in a good way. Before hearing I thought Pendragon had had their day since the album "the Masquerade Overture". Luckily, I was wrong. But I'll get one with the review. 

The album gets off to an excellent start with fanfare style organs from Clive Nolan on the first track "Everything", before the guitar comes in and bursts into song. This is, in my opinion, one of the best and most important songs on the album as many of it's motifs are repeated in other songs on the album. Anyway, it's a great song and brilliant intro. 

"Everything" then flows into "Starfish and the Moon", a quiet, simple song featuring only piano and a soft guitar solo in the middle - and Nick Barrett's excellent vocals, of course. The quiet is undisturbed as the next song, the 8-minute opus "Truth and Lies", comes in with more of that soft guitar - do not be deceived, however, as it soon flows into an harrowing guitar solo - in my opinion, the best on the album. As the harsh, storminess of "Truth and Lies" fades away, a mandolin comes in, signifying the begin of "360 Degrees". After the first verse, the drums enter with bombast pronouncing a happy violin melody. The entire song is inspired by the sea, which would make sense as Nick Barrett is curently living in Cornwall. In fact, the entire album seems sea-orientated - even the cover. 

As "360 Degrees" fades away, in comes "Soul and the Sea" - probably the most musically varied track. It begins, like "Truth and Lies", with a soft guitar. Soon the violin comes in and then the drums, followed by somewhat whispered vocals; until all of a sudden it breaks down into a short piano motif. Then, thunderous guitar and drums enter, the vocals now loud and clear, until it fades out with an acoustic guitar. 

After "Soul and the Sea" ends, "Eternal Light" begins with a soft but soon loud guitar. After the first lyrics, a motif from "Everything" comes in - and after that, more lyrics, an instrumental section, then yet more lyrics, then the end. I've barely described it there - it is as varied and complex as "Soul and the Sea" - but "Soul and the Sea" gets the most complex prize, as it is much shorter. 

Then - "Water" - another long song at seven minutes long. It begin only with a soft, sad guitar, but continues to build up and up as the song goes on, with a great, harsh guitar solo not dissimilar to "Truth and Lies". The album continues with "Whirlwind", a fairly short piano song, that fades into the longest track - "Who Really Are We" - that begins with a thunderous guitar riff, which descends into an acoustic passage with drums, but then breaks down - and builds up again with that thunderous guitar riff with added solo. The final lyrics come in, and then... 

"Afraid of Everything", the final track. It enters with a fairly soft guitar, builds up, then swirls out with a beautiful synth solo. A brilliant outro to a brilliant album. 

So, to sum up... I didn't want to have my first album review to be five stars for some reason, but here I am forced to. It has both the two requirements I consider for a five star album: 

1. The songs are all great. In the words of Special Collaborator chopper, "not a duff track in sight". 

2. It works brilliantly as an album. It flows well from song to song, and many songs share motifs. 

So... five stars. 

[End of review]

I’d love to hear you’re reviews! 

Taskaha are a fairly new band from Norway, who have recently released their self-titled debut album. As it happens, according to Google translate, Taskaha means nothing in Norweigan, although does mean “treasures” in Somali. But I’ll get on. 

“Mind Date” begins the album with a heavy guitar riff, which goes on for a while before it breaks down (partially, there are still drums) and the first lyrics ensue. I’ll say no more, except that it is complex, professional (the guitar is especially advanced – note the guitar solo specifically), and imaginative – a great quality that seems to be so abundant with new bands/artists today. Being different and imaginative in music is what made bands like Genesis famous. 

Next up, “Nature Girl”. Opening with a soft electric guitar riff and fairly quiet vocals, when I first heard this song it had a strange sense of foreboding at the beginning of it – and I was right, it continues with a heavy riff worthy of prog metal. Dark and emotional, this song has the usual qualities of neo prog – but it has elements of the band’s own style too, a very good sign, since if a band has not got it’s own sound it won’t go very far.  

After “Nature Girl” ends with a bang, “Reframe!” begins with a bang – with one of the best riffs on the album. Don’t quite know what it is, but this magnificent song really brings me back to the 80s – it's a masterpiece, I’m serious. If this was the 80s, this would have been a hit, I’m sure – not in the way of “Sussudio”, more in the way of “Lavender Blue”, it’s not a pop song, it’s just great. No other way of describing it. 

“Daylight’s Fading” is another very powerful song. It, like all long neo songs I’ve ever heard, is emotionally varied, soft sometimes and hard at points, dramatic, and feels like you’ve heard all the music in the world at the end. It is the magnum opus of the album – not necessarily the greatest song on the album (“Reframe!” takes that honour), but it the most complex musical achievement – and a great song besides – and a guitar solo to match “Mind Date”, the other opus of the album. 

The final song, “Invisible”, makes a change – opening with acoustic rather than electric guitar (though, mind you, so does “Daylight’s Fading”). It is as complex and multi-layered as the other songs on the album – if not more so. In fact, it’s a bit too complex – I can barely describe it, though it has yet another excellent guitar solo – that eventually becoming a riff, that ends the song and the album. All else I can say is... it’s a good ender, but lacks the urgency and emotions of the rest of the album. 

My conclusion: I was very tempted to give the album five stars, but resisted. My requirements for a five star album: 

1. 1. The songs must all be excellent.  

2. 2. It must work brilliantly as an album. 

3. 
   

Number one is perfect – though “Invisible” is perhaps not quite as good as the others. Number two – a little like Terraformer by Thank You Scientist, the music is so complex and imaginative that it gets a bit much. Not that that’s a bad thing, it just is an imperfection (since some will not appreciate over-complicated music – even in the world of prog) – and knocks off a star therefore. 

However, this is a very promising album in general – and Taskaha, I must say, are very promising band in general. I’ve heard material by classic prog bands that is not up to their standards. They are also very talented musicians – the guitar is superb, it really is – and even better, the guitarist has his own style of playing, just like some of the best players (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Green, etc.) and the singing is also to be noted – it must be difficult enough singing well, let alone in not your first language. Like I said, very promising, I expect even better on their next album, and I've really enjoyed listening to this one.

And as I sometimes like to say at the end of a review: The final verdict is... four stars! 

[End of Review]